Man who picked multibaggers in '08 looks for gems on Street

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As investors grappled with the fear of the unknown on Dalal Street amid the 21-day nationwide lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, market veteran Vijay Kedia remained calm and carefree as ever.He even penned poems, satirizing the market mood amid a merciless selloff. And, as always, he circulated his trademark motivational lines on group platforms, trying to keep friends and followers upbeat as the nationwide shutdown and stocks selloff cast a pall of gloom all around.Kedia penned four poems in the first two weeks of the lockdown, and recited them in videos made specially for his social media audience.As for market activity, Kedia said he sold some of his holdings, sat on cash and watched the market swing to the tunes of the virus that originated in China’s Wuhan province.“Watching markets from 9 am to 4 pm, writing, daily exercise and eating less are my focus points nowadays,” Kedia said about his daily routine through this lockdown.In one of his poems, Kedia urged investors to learn from their mistakes, and tried to infuse optimism, saying the share market would provide opportunities again.“My message is simple: forget the last bull market, look for new shares and new targets,” Kedia said.Kedia says he did not trade through the choppy phase of the market selloff and waited patiently, trying to zero in potential gems that distress selloff like this tends to throw up.The Mumbai-based investor is known for having spotted many a multibagger such as Cera Sanitaryware, Aegis Logistics and Atul Auto in the ruins of the market meltdown following the Global Financial Crisis.75122963He managed to spot these growth stories early and they ended up delivering up to 100 times returns from their 2008 lows.The market veteran says he has been at it since 2004.Kedia strictly adheres to what he calls the SMILE principle for stock investing; which translates into spotting businesses that are Small in size, Medium in experience, Large in aspiration and Extra-large in market potential.Kedia said the free fall in the market over the past two months is proving to be testing times for all. “This would throw up wonderful opportunities over the next three months to invest for the long term, ranging from five to 10 years,” he said.Equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty crashed more than 30 per cent in last two months as uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the economy continued to weigh on investor sentiment.Asked how can one catch the bottom of the market, Kedia laughed at the naivety of the question.75135324“Those who can identify the bottom of benchmark indices, bottom of stocks and bottom of the ongoing crisis (coronavirus) together will be the kings of the market,” he said curtly.While the market has melted across the board, the wealth erosion has not been uniform. While select sectoral indices have cracked around 9 per cent, some others have bled as much as 45 per cent.Asked which sectors might lead a new rally once the dust settles, Kedia said it is difficult to predict that right now. “Companies whose products we are using at our homes during this lockdown period will definitely be going to survive and come out stronger,” he said.The market veteran does not expect a V-shaped recovery for the market in the near future. Even in the best-case scenario, he does not sees Nifty going past the 10,000-10,500 range too soon. “In the worst-case scenario, market may fall further 10-20 per cent due to sustained outflow of foreign institutional investors’ money,” he said.The 50-share Nifty index hovered at around 9,000 mark on April 13. “I am hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst at the same time,” he said.

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